Quantitative Chemoproteomic Profiling of Targets of Au(I) Complexes by Competitive Activity-Based Protein Profiling.

Owing to the encouraging pharmacological action and acceptable toxicity profile, Au(I) complexes have attracted growing interest in the application of disease treatment. In order to investigate their potential target proteins and related bioinformation, herein, we screened four Au(I) complexes and explored the binding proteins utilizing a competitive activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) strategy, including identification experiments and reactivity classification experiments, which offers a simple and robust method to identify the target proteins of Au(I) complexes. We quantified the target proteins of the four Au(I) complexes and found that most of proteins were associated with cancer. In addition, the newly Au(I)-binding proteins and biological gold-protein interaction pathways were exhibited. Furthermore, we estimated the correlation between target proteins of Au(I) complexes and various cancers, which will promote the development of the gold anticancer drugs.

Palladium(II)-Catalyzed C(sp2)-H Bond Activation/C-N Bond Cleavage Annulation of N-Methoxy Amides and Arynes.

The Pd(II)-catalyzed C-H bond activation/C-N bond cleavage annulation reaction of N-alkyoxyamide aryne is developed to synthesize 9,10-dihydrophenanthrenone derivatives. This reaction exhibited good functional group compatibility with yields up to 92%. Detailed mechanistic studies showed that the key to C-N bond cleavage is the formed eight-membered palladacycle intermediate undergoing nucleophilic addition to the carbonyl group, which provides a new and practical way for N-alkoxyamide directed C-H bond activation.

Palladium(II)-catalyzed asymmetric C-H carbonylation to diverse isoquinoline derivatives bearing all-carbon quaternary stereocenters.

Enantioselective synthesis of tetrahydroisoquinolines bearing an all-carbon quaternary stereogenic center, was achieved via asymmetric C-H activation with high enantioselectivities (up to 93% ee). Fair substrate tolerance was indicated throughout the scope investigation and no evident loss of enantioselectivity was exhibited in late-stage derivatization. This study provides incentives for the construction of diverse chiral isoquinoline derivatives, which are prevalent among pharmaceuticals, natural products, etc.

Ligand-Accelerated Palladium(II)-Catalyzed Enantioselective Amination of C(sp2)-H Bonds.

The first example of the Pd(II)-catalyzed enantioselective amination of aryl C-H bonds is reported. The key to the successful realization of this asymmetric catalytic transformation was the identification of mono-N-protected α-amino-O-methylhydroxamic acid (MPAHA) ligands, which promote reactivity under mild conditions and control enantioselectivity. The counteranions in the solvent medium, hexafluoroacetylacetate and acetate, were also found to play key roles in stereocontrol and reactivity enhancement.

The Critical Role of Dopant Cations in Electrical Conductivity and Thermoelectric Performance of n-Doped Polymers.

The low n-doping efficiency of conjugated polymers with the molecular dopants limits their availability in electrical conductivity, thermoelectrics, and other electric applications. Recently, considerable efforts have focused on improving the ionization of dopants by modifying the structures of host polymers or n-dopants; however, the effect of ionized dopants on the electrical conductivity and thermoelectric performance of the polymers is still a puzzle. Herein, we try to reveal the role of molecular dopant cations on carrier transport through the systematic comparison of two n-dopants, TAM and N-DMBI-H. These two n-dopants exhibit various doping features with the polymer due to their different chemical structure characteristics. For instance, while doping, TAM negligibly perturbs the polymer backbone conformation and microstructural ordering; then after ionization, TAM cations possess weak π-backbone affinity but strong intrinsic affinity with side chains, which enables the doped system to screen the Coulomb potential spatially. Such doping features lead to high carrierization capabilities for TAM-doped polymers and further result in an excellent conductivity of up to 22 ± 2.5 S cm-1 and a power factor of over 80 µW m-1 K-2, which are significantly higher than the state of the art values of the common n-dopant N-DMBI-H. More importantly, this strategy has also proven to be widely applicable in other doped polymers. Our investigations indicate the vital role of dopant counterions in high electrical and thermoelectric performance polymers and also suggest that, without sacrificing Seebeck coefficients, high conductivities can be realized with precise regulation of the interaction between the cations and the host.

Palladium(II)-Catalyzed C(sp2)-H Carbonylation of Sterically Hindered Amines with Carbon Monoxide.

A palladium-catalyzed, amine-directed C(sp2)-H carbonylation of α,α-disubstituted benzylamine under 1 atm of CO for the facile synthesis of sterically hindered benzolactam has been developed. The key to success is the use of 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy as the crucial sole oxidant. The synthetic utility of this transformation has been demonstrated by the first concise synthesis of the natural product spiropachysin-20-one.

A Copper-Catalyzed Aerobic [1,3]-Nitrogen Shift through Nitrogen-Radical 4-exo-trig Cyclization.

A novel radical [1,3]-nitrogen shift catalyzed by copper diacetate under an oxygen atmosphere (1 atm) has been developed for the construction of a diverse range of indole derivatives from α,α-disubstituted benzylamine. In this reaction, oxygen was used as a clean terminal oxidant, and water was produced as the only by-product. Five inert bonds were cleaved, and two C-N bonds and one C-C double bond were constructed in one pot during this transformation. This unique method demonstrated broad application protential for the late-stage modification of biologically active natural products and drugs. Mechanistic investigations indicate that a unique 4-exo-trig cyclization of an aminyl radical onto a phenyl ring is involved in the catalytic cycle.

Iron-catalyzed radical aryldifluoromethylation of activated alkenes to difluoromethylated oxindoles.

An iron-catalyzed aryldifluoromethylation of activated alkenes under mild reaction conditions has been developed, which is a rare example where a cosolvent is used to improve the reaction yield along with Fenton's reagent and thus provides an economic and green method for the synthesis of a variety of difluoromethylated oxindoles. Preliminary mechanistic investigations indicate a radical addition path.

Pd(II)-catalyzed enantioselective C-H activation/C-O bond formation: synthesis of chiral benzofuranones.

Pd(II)-catalyzed enantioselective C-H activation of phenylacetic acids followed by an intramolecular C-O bond formation afforded chiral benzofuranones. This reaction provides the first example of enantioselecctive C-H functionalizations through Pd(II)/Pd(IV) redox catalysis.